In a closely watched case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann L. Medler rejected arguments from Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association that players' identities and statistics are the intellectual property of the league and the players, thus enabling them to make fantasy game operators pay licensing fees for using the information.

Such fees, which have been increasing, might drive smaller fantasy game operators out of business. They also likely would be passed on to the millions who play fantasy sports games. If baseball and the union prevail — and they can appeal Tuesday's ruling — they and other pro leagues could continue escalating the licensing fees.

An estimated 15 million to 18 million Americans will play fantasy sports, for fun or money, in 2006, says Jeff Thomas, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Baseball ranks as the second-most popular game behind football with 3.5 million players, he says.

With fantasy sports generating an estimated $100 million in revenue and growing at a 7%-10% clip annually, unions and leagues see a lucrative opportunity to cash in on players' names and performance.

St. Louis-based CBC Distribution & Marketing, which operates as CDM Fantasy Sports, had a licensing agreement with the baseball players union from 1995 to 2004. But after it was turned down for a new licensing agreement for the 2005 season, it filed suit against the players union and MLB.com. (USA TODAY's publisher, Gannett Co. Inc., was in talks to buy CBC in 2005.)

Medler barred the baseball players union and MLB.com, the league's Internet arm that operates its own fantasy league, from interfering with CBC.

"The undisputed facts establish that the names and playing records of (MLB) players as used in CBC's fantasy games are not copyrightable and, therefore, federal copyright law does not pre-empt the players' claimed right of publicity," wrote Medler in her 49-page ruling issued in St. Louis. Even if players have a claimed right of publicity, she added, "the First Amendment takes precedence over such a right."

Concerning a possible appeal, MLB spokesman Jim Gallagher said: "We're in the process of reviewing the decision. We'll be in contact with our partners, the MLB Players Association, before commenting further."

MLB has boosted the price for offering officially licensed fantasy games for large operators such as ESPN.com to the $2.5 million range this season, says Charlie Wiegert, executive vice president of CBC. The league has also slashed its roster of licensed operators to seven from 20, dropping many smaller companies in the process.

Wiegert hopes the ruling will help smaller operators among the 300 or so companies offering fantasy games stay in business — and make the NFL, NBA, NHL and NASCAR think twice before charging big money for fantasy stats.

"This will be a defining moment in the fantasy sports industry," says Wiegert. "The other leagues are all watching this case. If MLB prevailed, it just would have been a matter of time before they followed up. Their player unions are just waiting for the opportunity."